Grindr, the dating app specializing in the LGBTQ+ audience, announced on Monday May 9 its intention to go public, an operation that would value it at $2.1 billion.
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The platform, used by around 11 million people every month, plans to raise $384 million to invest in its infrastructure and monetization tools, to attract and retain more people, and to diversify its revenues.
"We have a global brand that is present almost everywhere in the community we serve, an impressive size, an industry-leading user engagement rate and operating margin, and we are just beginning our journey in terms of monetization and growth
, ”said Jeff Bonforte, the boss of Grindr, quoted in a press release.
The Californian company has decided to go through a Spac (special purpose acquisition company), an already listed financial vehicle that merges with a company to allow it to enter the stock market more easily than via a traditional IPO.
She highlights her
“mission to serve the LGBTQ+ community”
and its potential by indicating that her target market is
“growing rapidly”
, and that the application only affects
“still only 2%”
of this market.
She also notes that 80% of profiles belong to people under the age of 35.
Read alsoUnder pressure from the United States, the gay dating app Grindr resold by its Chinese owner
Grindr, however, faces conflicts with authorities in different countries.
The US company recently appealed a record €6.3 million fine imposed on it by Norway for illegally sharing personal data.
"Grindr has provided, without legal basis, personal data about its users to third parties for targeted marketing"
, estimated last December, the Norwegian data protection authority.
In other countries, the app is censored.
In January, it disappeared from app stores in China, where same-sex marriage is banned and LGBTQ issues remain taboo, even though homosexuality has not been a crime there since 1997.
Founded in 2009, Grindr was once owned by Chinese online gaming specialist Kunlun Tech, which had to agree to sell it to an American firm in 2020, after pressure from the United States citing national security reasons.
A federal agency feared that American users would be blackmailed if the Chinese government demanded data (sexual orientation, HIV status, etc.) from Kunlun Tech.